If you are planning to incorporate credit card processing with your business, you should do the necessary preparations so that you will know what to expect, how to handle credit card payments, and how to avoid unnecessary problems.

Listed below are general tips for business owners who want to open a merchant account:

Don’t rush. Setting up a merchant account can take up a few days, depending on the provider.

It’s important to spend some time exploring your options and doing research to ensure that your chosen provider will be a reliable one.

Know the actual fees. Before choosing a credit card processing company, see to it that you are aware of the system as well as all the fees involved with each transaction. Keep in mind that the specific fees will vary from one credit card processing company to the next.
In addition, credit card processing fees for online transactions are often more expensive than offline transactions. The reason is due to the greater risk involved with online payments. If your primary platform for selling is over the internet, then you should gather quotes specifically for online credit card processing so you can get a more accurate idea about how much it will cost you.

Choose the right shopping cart. There are shopping cart software which are not compatible with some gateway systems. Be sure to ask your credit card merchant processing for recommendations as to which shopping cart software is best. In comparing shopping carts, don’t forget to consider the ease of use and convenience for customers who will be using it when placing their orders online.

Consider expertise. Aside from making sure that the merchant account provider is legitimate and the fees are reasonable, you should consider the expertise of the company especially when it comes to credit card merchant processing.

If the provider does not specialize in online marketing or e-commerce, you might not be able to enjoy full protection against fraud and ID theft and you might not be able to access the latest features in online credit card payments.

If this  was helpful, please LIKE or Tweet this post, thanks!

Related Posts:

Should Small Businesses Use PayPal?
How to Accept Debit Card Payments
The Pros and Cons of Accepting Credit Card Payment
Seller Responsibilities With Credit Card Merchant Processing
The Cost of Credit Card Payment Processing

About the Author:

Melanie James has spent the last 14 years working with businesses to implement quick, effective and inexpensive changes to their businesses to increase productivity and their bottom line.

Do you own a business? If yes, then perhaps one area of your business that you’re most concerned about is your payment processing system. Today, every small businesses can accept credit card payments from customers. However, with cases of credit card fraud ever increasing, both consumers and business owners are warned to take the necessary precautions to avoid possible problems.

What is a chargeback and how can you avoid them?

One of the most common problems about accepting credit card payments is getting charge backs. But what are charge backs?

When you accept credit card payment from a customer, there’s a possibility that the customer can change minds, or isn’t even the real owner of the credit card.

Perhaps the credit card has been stolen and is being used without the real card owner’s consent.

By the time the credit card owner receives his/her billing statement, he or she may dispute these unauthorized charges. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer has the right to dispute unauthorized charges in the account. In this case, when the consumer calls up the bank and advise them about these unauthorized charges, the credit card issuer may move for a reversal of that particular credit card transaction.

Obviously, credit card charge backs can affect a business’s sales and marketing performance. If you’re not careful, a huge amount of chargeback can result to a major loss in your profits. What you thought was a genuine sale for your business later on may prove to be a fraud.

To avoid being a victim of credit card fraud, it is the merchant’s responsibility to accept credit card payments with extreme caution. Here are some steps you should take before closing that credit card purchase.

• Swipe the card or imprint it on the transaction receipt. In case of a dispute, having the card swiped proves that the customer presented the credit card when the purchase was made.

• Closely examine the cardholder’s signature. Sometimes, it is easy to overlook this crucial step especially when there are a lot of customers in line, waiting for their turn in the cashier. But checking if the customer’s signature matches the signature at the back of the credit card can alert you of a credit card theft. Instead of presuming that the credit card holder is the real owner, keep in mind that there is always a possibility that the credit card being used is stolen.

• Ask for proof of identification. Some shops do not ask for additional IDs unless it’s a huge purchase amount. But even if it’s just a small amount of purchase, every merchant should make it a practice to ask for at least one ID from their client.

• Check the credit card’s expiration date. Don’t forget to check the expiration date on the credit card. There are cases when credit card thieves use old or expired credit cards and get away with it.

• Call the credit card issuer. If you’re in doubt, take a moment to call the credit card issuer to confirm the details of the cardholder.

About the Author:

Melanie James has spent the last 14 years working with businesses to implement quick, effective and inexpensive changes to their businesses to increase productivity and their bottom line.